What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #6

Hello again VBS folks! This is the sixth installment of a 10 part series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is Praise Songs & Thanksgiving:

The Bible has a lot to say about praising, singing and giving thanks. The Psalms alone has 86 references while the New Testament has 36 with the majority in Revelation which gives a hint of what Heaven is going to be like. Here are some more verses on the topic of praise and thanksgiving:

*12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! – Psalm 30

*1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High. – Psalm 92

*16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. – Colossians 3

Every year we get feedback that the music is too loud. I am not trying to be insensitive to folks but check out these verses!:

*8 Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises. – Psalm 66

*4 Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord—
rejoice in his presence! – Psalm 68

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #5

Hello again folks! This is the fifth installment of a 10 part series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is Preaching/Teaching:

Here is what Jesus says about sharing the Gospel:

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28

15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. - Mark 16

These are a couple of my favorite verses. Our Lord Jesus has given us authority and a command to go forward and make disciples. Discipleship includes teaching the commands of Christ from the New Testament. It is awesome that Jesus is with us as we go about this in VBS or in our respected churches and lives! He said in Mark to preach the Good News to everyone! That means kids, teens and parents that show up at Community VBS!

Mark Your Calendar!

Hello VBS folks!

It is a sunny Friday and does that make you think of VBS or what? Mark your calendar, our first meeting will be Monday March 9th at 6:00PM upstairs at the Junction

Please follow the "VBS Guide 2009" link on the this blog site to familiarize yourself with what is out there this summer. I am leaning towards Groups "Rome" so let me know what you think.

It will be a 30 minuet meeting where we will catch-up and get fired-up about this years VBS!

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #4

Hello again folks,This is the fourth installment of the series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is the Children!

Kids are what VBS is all about! Why is it so important to reach kids? The Barna Group, a Christian research organization, has some important statistics on the subject:·

• Nearly half (43%) of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their savior do so before reaching the age of 13 (2004) ·


• Two out of three born again Christians (64%) accept Jesus Christ as their savior before their 18th birthday. (2004) ·


• One out of eight born again people (13%) made their profession of faith while 18 to 21 years old. (2004)

Based on those stats reaching kids with the Gospel is huge for the future of the church and evangelism. The Bible encourages that children be taught the Word and presented to Christ for His blessings:

18 “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. – Deuteronomy 11

6 Direct your children onto the right path,and when they are older, they will not leave it. -Proverbs 22

13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” 15 And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. – Matthew 19

14 But you (Timothy) must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.- 2 Timothy 3

The verse in Timothy is an awesome one for children’s ministry. When we (Community VBS) teach the Word to kids it has the innate spiritual dynamic that gives wisdom that leads to salvation in Christ! Awesome! It is so cool that God allows you and me to be involved in the salvation process. Everyone in Community VBS, shepherds, teens, station leaders, snacks, crafts, music, sound, stage set-up, registration, etc. are all part of the teaching that leads to wisdom that leads to salvation that leads kids right into the arms of Jesus Christ!

What Exactly is a Successful VBS? Ingredient #3

Hello again folks,
This is the third installment of the series on what makes a successful VBS. This weeks ingredient is the Great Outdoors:

This is exciting, the New Testament supports our outdoor model:

1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them. - Matthew 5

12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. – Acts 16